TOPIC: How to Delete Your Accounts From the Internet

By Eric Griffith 14 Mar 2017Deleting accounts you've created on the Internet, from social media to software services, isn't always easy. Here are the details on leaving several big-name services behind.

The phrase "I wish I could quit you" takes on a whole new meaning when you want out of a relationship with an internet service. Sure, you once thought you and Facebook or Amazon or Netflix would be together forever, but terms of service change, end-user license agreements mature, and, well, you're just not in the same digital place anymore.

Sadly, not all websites and social networks and online retailers are created equal when it comes to breaking up. With some, it takes only a couple of clicks to say goodbye. For a few sites, if you stop paying for the service, the site cuts ties fairly quickly. Others make you jump through more hoops. Even after you follow all the required steps, some sites never quite leave you alone, with vestiges of your relationship around forever.

No matter what you call it—deleting, canceling, removing—when you want to be rid of an online account, many sites don't make it easy. You don't want to rush into a breakup, but if you're ready, we've compiled the links, tips, and—in the most extreme cases—the phone numbers you need to sever ties. (And let's be clear, there's a difference between deleting an account and just deactivating it. We'll spell out the differences for each account, as needed.) Also, sometimes legality prevents a service from deleting everything you've posted publicly in the past, so remnants of your time there could remain in perpetuity.